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If you've noticed my lack of craft posts the past few months, it's because all my crafting energy has been going into my next cosplay - which is fun, but also saps my creative mojo, so to speak. I'm looking forward to finishing just so I can get back to smaller, immediate-gratification projects!

Sadly I'm nowhere near the finish line yet, but I think the most important part - my mask - is finally finished enough to show off.

As most of you guessed from my sneak peek ages ago, I'm working on a steampunk White Rabbit from Disney's Alice in Wonderland.

Now, this is my first-ever foray into leather working, so naturally John and I jumped in head first by starting with a fairly complicated mask. Heh. I turned to Youtube for tutorials - and highly recommend this one from Merimask - but we still were figuring out a lot of things as we went along, since every tutorial offers slightly different advice.

You can actually buy one of these (or a similar style without the monocle) at Andrea's Etsy shop for $200, but since this is to be the focal point of my entire costume, I was determined to make it myself. I'm just stubborn like that. And cheap. But mostly stubborn.

Aaaaand here's my mask (so far):

I may still adjust one or two things, but over all I'm pretty pleased for our first try!

John did the hardest part, which was drawing and adjusting the paper template, stopping to crinkle it over my face every few minutes to check the fit. When he was satisfied, he cut it out of vegetable-tanned, 8 oz leather and handed it over to me to sketch on. I drew in my design details, and then he did the carving:

John is really enjoying this new hobby, so I practically had to pry the mask out of his hands to do my own work on it. :)

Next we soaked the mask in water and formed it on my face. This was tricky, since the muzzle really needed to stand out, but I kept working at it with my fingers, and was eventually satisfied with the shape. (Interesting note: saturated leather is oddly clay-like, and very malleable.) We also shaped the ears a bit.

We propped up the formed mask on parchment paper, and then baked it at about 200 degrees until it dried:

We used 7 to 8 pound leather for the mask, although I've since learned that we probably could have used something a bit thinner. This thickness is rock hard when dry, and feels more like wood than leather on my face. Good thing it's molded to fit so well!

Here's the formed mask next to my original sketch. As you can see, we got it pretty close.

As much as I like the color of undyed leather, I couldn't really be the White Rabbit without, well, some white. So next came priming and painting:

I used a water-based primer, and then plain acrylic craft paint for the white. The gold sections were painted with Liquid Leaf - which is NOT water-based, but gives a nice shine.

As soon as I finished the gold I realized the contrast was just too stark, so next I aged the entire mask with a lovely yellowish-brown water-based glaze. (The advantages of being married to a former faux-finisher: custom glazes on demand!)

I went a little overboard with the aging, though, so even though I loved the look, I had to go back and white-wash the white sections again to brighten it up. After all, I don't want to be the Cream Rabbit.

(More on my giant pocket watch in a minute.)

The monocle was WAY harder than the mask, and took three times as long to make. I spent hours on the paper template, shaving off millimeter by millimeter to get it to fit the mask contours exactly. I first made a vinyl version, but then started over with a thicker leather for a more authentic look. I also started out with a vintage flashlight lens, but then abandoned THAT for the fun metal edging you see here:

I cut my own lens out of plexiglass, and added a scrim by stretching a scrap of thin black pantyhose over the back. Finally I formed & stitched the cup, added decorations, and riveted the whole shebang onto the mask.

The finishing touch was a thick gold chain attached to the side.

That process was stretched over more weeks than I'd care to admit. I've come to realize I am the world's slowest crafter, just because I figure things out as I go, instead of starting with a clear-cut design and plan of attack. I like the process, but it does get frustrating.

Now check out this loveliness:

Sha-POW!

This is what you get when you let weeds overtake your backyard: a lovely, springy ground cover in brilliant green. Who needs grass? I like this stuff!

Oh, and I just realized the scale of this picture makes my mask look tiny, but I can assure you that's just a giant pocket watch. :) It's actually a vintage wall clock, but I removed the electrical guts and replaced them with a lightweight battery operated clock mechanism, so it even works! I also jazzed up the face with metallic gear cutouts and gems. (Still not 100% happy with it, but it's on the back burner for now.) The thing still weighs a ton due to its heavy metal case, but there's no way I could make something like this entirely from scratch.

Welp, that's all for now!

I have lots more to show you, but nothing finished, so I'll save all that for next time.

'Til then, I'd love your suggestions on what I can do with my hair/head. Hats are out, so I'm debating either a white wig (which might look too stark) or some kind of head wrap with white & gold cyberlox on the side, kinda like so:

I went a little overboard stocking up on both Kindle and physical books from the library this month, so I'm trying to write quick mini-reviews as I go! Here's the first three:

The False Princess is like a cozy blanket for your soul, hitting all the right notes while still allowing for a few tense moments and surprises. It begins with despair, as Nalia is cast out as the stand-in, false princess, basically a place-holder for the real princess who's been hidden away since birth. From there her journey is a classic tale of adventure and self-discovery, combined with a friendship so sweet and fiercely loyal that it actually made me cry a few happy tears. If you're looking for a YA fantasy with magic and real heart, definitely check this one out.

Fablehaven
is a pretty decent kids' story following the time-honored "siblings stay with an eccentric relative in his mysterious mansion" thread. It's a quick and easy read, which is good since not much happens 'til the halfway point. It picks up from there, though, and carries you through to the end with plenty of action, adventure, and blood-thirsty fairies. Points off for the willfully stupid little brother - you'll spend half the time wanting to throttle him - and one or two situations that try a bit too hard to be funny, but otherwise Fablehaven is a good fantasy adventure aimed at the younger reading crowd. (Not quite as good as, say, Artemis Fowl, but still in that general category.)

Fablehaven is also the first book in a series of five, and I get the feeling the next four will be better, just because the overall premise is so cool. I just hope the annoying little brother gets a little LESS annoying in book two.

The House With a Clock In Its Walls
is another kid-stays-with-eccentric-relative story, though this time the child has been recently orphaned instead of just visiting for the summer. It's a deceptively sweet story that packs a creepy wallop, even getting downright scary in a couple places. (I've since seen it described as a "gothic horror for children," if that gives you an idea.)

The Edward Gorey illustrations definitely add to the creepy gothic vibe, and if you're like me, they'll have you reminiscing about Vincent Price and Masterpiece Mystery:

This is my childhood, right here. (Well, not the murder-y parts.)

Getting back to the book, though: I really like Lewis, the kid in question. He's unapologetically bookish and awkward and fat, and he makes the kinds of mistakes we've all made in our struggle to be liked, so you can't help but cheer for him.

The House is actually an old book,first published back in 1973, but there's nothing to date it other than that cover up there. (In fact, I had no idea it was that old when I read it - I figured it was from the nineties.) That's probably why the modern reprints look like this:

It's a good cover, although I wish they'd tried to match Gorey's style a bit more.

Anyway, I've since learned that The House is the first in a series of twelve books by John Bellairs, and the most recent was just published in 2008. Nice! I'll definitely be looking up the next one, The Figure In the Shadows.

K, that's it for now!

If you're looking for more of my book reviews and recommendations, you can find the complete list right here. And as always, feel free to share your own picks in the comments; everything I read and review these days is taken directly from your suggestions!

I love how elegant this is - and there's actual blue liquid in the "Drink Me" bottle! Cool!

(On second thought, John, just leave those cards out. It'll be fine. Honest. In fact, I'll just hold on to them for safe keeping...)

Ahem.

I had a couple of you send me the link last week when Dreamfinder's original top hat was up for auction on Ebay - but it sold for something like $2,500 by the time I saw it. No problem; this Figment charm bracelet would make a FINE consolation prize:

I was trying to figure out why I love this so much, and then I realized it's all those orange touches. (Of course!) Who knew orange, pink, and lavender could look this fabulous together?

There are tons of boring ol' "print out some art & slap it under resin in a plain bezel" necklaces on Etsy, which I'm generally not a fan of. However, this Haunted Mansion Tightrope Walker pendant is an example of Doing It Right:

It also comes in green, but this red reminds me of The Muppet Show's theater with it's rich red curtain and gold scrollwork. Aaaand now I'm going to be humming the theme song for the rest of the night. ("It's time to play the music, it's time to... CURSES.")

And finally, let's end with some cute to end all cute:

The Alchemian Shop has TONS of squee-worthy pendants like these, all handmade with polymer clay in Italy. The Evil Queen is just under $30, and the Snow White is just under $34.

(Be prepared to pay over $20 for shipping if you don't live in Italy, though. Ouch.)

I also may have squeaked something girly and unintelligible when I spotted these ADORABLE Alices: